After Theft, Tyler White Pitches In To Help Alma Mater

The juxtaposition couldn’t have been more stark.

At around the same time that Nike officially announced an agreement to outfit the entire Texas’ Frisco Independent School District in Dallas with sports equipment and apparel in a deal valued at $1.74 million, tiny Chase High in rural Forest City, N.C., was jolted by a robbery.

Sometime between Jan. 30 and Feb. 1, about $4,000 to $5,000 in baseball equipment was stolen, Chase High officials said.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office was investigating a breaking and entering that essentially wiped out the baseball team’s gloves, bats, helmets et al, just weeks before the March 1 opener.

To make matters worse, the school of just 784 students doesn’t have the budget to replace the equipment. In fact, the players themselves purchase their own gloves, bats and caps.

Luckily, Chase High has a well-known—and industry-connected—alum who could help.

Astros prospect Tyler White still works out in the school’s facilities and his dad, Brian, is an assistant to head coach Tony Wall.

White said he heard about the robbery from some of the players.

“They got to the field and said it looked weird, and they said, ‘hey man, all of our stuff got stolen,”’ White said from spring training in Kissimmee, Fla.

“(The robbers) knew what they were doing. They took all the (expensive) gloves and good bats, all the stuff that’s worth something,” he said.

“Lots of gloves, nice gloves,” he said. “They also took quite a few fungo bats … not sure why.

“One of the kids, a catcher, he must have spent $2,000 alone (on equipment that was stolen).”

White, hoping to break camp with the Astros after a breakout 2015, knew he had to do something. He tweeted about the theft and some equipment manufacturers—including those he has not endorsed—came to the rescue.

“They got in touch with my agency (Ballengee Group),” White said. “Some of the people I had relationships with … they stepped up. A lot of companies got involved.”

Adidas, Mizuno, Louisville Slugger and batting glove manufacturer Cutters donated equipment, helping make Chase High whole again.

Mizuno doesn’t have an arrangement with White, but that didn’t matter, said director of Diamond Promotions Jim Guadagno.

“We heard of a need and it was a great opportunity to help contribute,” Guadagno said. “I liken it to when I was a kid in high school (and we didn’t have much). When product does come your way, it’s kind of neat for some of that product to get into the hands of someone who needs it.

“It’s high-end stuff—they may not even know what they have. We wanted to do something to help.”

Guadagno said the items were surplus—some from players who’d been traded and other similar circumstances—but it was of the quality Chase High probably hadn’t had before.

Cutters has supplied White for the past few years and was happy to lend a hand.

“One of our guys heard about the incident and it was pretty unfortunate,” said director of team sports Gary Bethea.

Cutters sent batting gloves, elbow and wrist guards and other protective gear—again items to which Chase High probably hasn’t had access.

“We were happy to help him out,” Bethea said of White’s alma mater.

White, who still lives near the school, was grateful to the companies and said the Chase High Trojans—who were 14-10 a year ago—will be ready to face Burns High of Lawndale, N.C., on March 1.

“They should be good to go.”